right?Lombardi: John [Tortorella] is go | Forum

Joe Clarke has won Great Britains second gold medal of Rio 2016 by triumphing in the mens K1 canoe slalom final. Cheap Broncos Jerseys Hoodies .After the agony of David Florences last-placed finish on Tuesday, British kayaker Clarke lit up a gloomy Whitewater Stadium with the race of his life.Clarke not only won Britains first Olympic medal in the mens K1 since Campbell Walsh at Athens 2004 but secured gold in a time of 88.53 seconds.A jubilant Clarke was stunned by his success. I just cant really put it into words, he said. Im just so made up.I have so many amazing memories of this sport and this just tops all of them in one day.Clarke admitted his new status as Olympic canoe slalom champion was one to savour.It has a nice ring to it, he told BBC Radio 5 live. Everything pieced together so nicely. I knew I was capable but to put down that run in the Olympic final, it is a dream come true.I have spent a lot of time here, I know this course like the back of my hand and it has paid off.There has been lots of ups and downs but it is just fantastic When I woke up I struggled to have breakfast I was so nervous with all the emotions. I thought if it goes to plan I could come away with a medal but to be Olympic champion it is something you dream about.Clarke was happy with the way his performance gained momentum throughout the competition.I wanted to build through the rounds. I had a very good qualification, second [in the heats] and third in the semifinals and then I knew that at the right time it would come naturally.I kind of just held it all together and came away with the gold medal.After moving into the gold medal position Clarke faced an agonising wait until his Olympic title was confirmed while the final two competitors had their runs.It was very difficult. I was on edge but Id done my job and I cant control what they do. I knew I had a bronze and from there it was the silver and then it was the gold, its just so amazing. Denver Broncos DaeSean Hamilton Jersey . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Wholesale Denver Broncos Jerseys 2019 .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. http://www.cheapbroncosjerseys.us/ . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. ST. PAUL, Minn -- If it were up to Team USA architect Dean Lombardi, the players who make up the American roster that will compete in the upcoming World Cup of Hockey would have more than a short training camp to bond.Theres some jealousy in the general managers voice when he points out the fact that the 1996 World Cup-champion American team had a month to golf, bond and come together before winning it all.Thats not the case this time around. Its two frickin days, he said. Were not going to mess around.To help prepare, Team USAs management and coaching staff spent time in Minnesota before camps finalizing plans to try to repeat the success of 96. At the conclusion of the meetings, Lombardi chatted with ESPN.coms Craig Custance about the upcoming tournament:ESPN.com: What was the focus of the meetings in St. Paul?Lombardi: Obviously, with the five or six coaches, we had a couple of things to do. One, we gave them an overview on what our philosophy was in terms of selecting the team. As we all know, there are almost no wrong answers when you put together a team with this much talent.I thought it was good for [Team USA head coach] John [Tortorellas] assistants to understand what our thinking was. And then the second thing was Johns area -- putting a team of top players together. Its critical that guys accept their roles. Also, when you essentially have an All-Star coaching staff it can be beneficial -- or you can end up with a gong show.Its the same thing as your team. It was important that [Tortorella] designate the [coaching] roles and make their responsibilities clear. Each guy started putting that together.ESPN.com: You mentioned your philosophy in putting together this roster. Theres been criticism of how you built this team ...Lombardi: When isnt there?ESPN.com: Yeah, but you took on more risk than others in some of your player selections. Does that add more pressure on you?Lombardi: Using 96 as a model, its no different than putting together an NHL team. We made it very clear -- all the work I did prior to it, going through it last August in those preliminary meetings -- that this had to be about team and identity.?So much went into this that you cant begin to explain, but that said you have to stay within a certain theme and philosophy. We could have gone another direction philosophically; I just come back to the word identity. I thought [identity] was critical if we were going to win this thing.?This was a lot harder than I thought. Forget the size of the staff we had -- we had a lot of scouts out there. Youre splitting hairs. It really had to be about team because there were so many good players and there wasnt a lot of separation. Denver Broncos Sam Jones Jersey. .It was a great experience. I didnt think it was going to be this difficult. We had to micromanage. We got down to the final one, we sat tighter and it was so close. You come back -- who fits right in? Whats the character? Will they fit into the team? That was always your tiebreaker.ESPN.com: How they fit in with the team was the tiebreaker?Lombardi: Yeah. Thats the other thing that was frustrating. The team in 96 was together for 30 days. We tried to do [team-bonding] things and werent allowed to because of the union. We cant afford to waste time. You cant have any maintenance. Its too short a tournament. You have no preparation.ESPN.com: Theres a belief that you built this team specifically to beat Canada. Is that a fair conclusion?Lombardi: Yeah. I mean, theyre the best. Who are we kidding? You want to be politically correct? No, theyre the best. Its like right now, youve got to beat the [Pittsburgh] Penguins. Thats just the way it is. There are really good teams but theyre clearly always the favorite going in. So, yeah.ESPN.com: So how big is the gap right now between Canada and the U.S.?Lombardi: Its kind of funny. You look at the young guys coming -- it goes in cycles ... I think there are some areas, without getting into it, why you had to go back to team and identity [when picking players]. A lot of people, the whole idea, thats coming with the center ice. One of the things we asked ourselves ... who is the top [center]? You know? Now you are seeing a few coming like Jack Eichel.ESPN.com: But now you dont have access to the top young American centers because theyre playing for Team North America.Lombardi: Yeah. Even Canada went through a period where its No. 1 defenseman since Chris Pronger wasnt there, and then boom, Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo come along. Back then, the Americans had the [top] defensemen, if you looked at it closely.It goes in cycles. The fairly obvious biggest thing is the middle doesnt have the top [guys]. That said, a guy like Joe Pavelski?is one of the top players. He finally got his recognition this year. If you were playing against him, you know how good this guy is. Its not totally fair to say this guy is not a No. 1 center.ESPN.com:?He has to be your captain, right?Lombardi: John [Tortorella] is going to take care of that. You can try to pump it out of him.Editors note: Joe Pavelski was named Team USAs captain on Wednesday. Cheap NFL Hoodies Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Jerseys NFL China Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '